$40 Million Sunrise Arena Hotel Holds High Aspirations

SUNRISE — Future visitors to the 13th floor of west Broward's newest, tallest hotel _ opening across from the Broward County Arena before Christmas 2000 _ can consider themselves lucky. It's the penthouse suite floor.

Developers of the high-rise, four-star hotel that aims to draw arena visitors to its $40 million-$45 million expanse between the mall and the arena released details of the Sawgrass Hotel Inc. project on Monday.

Final plans are still subject to Sunrise city approval, likely in August, City Manager Patrick Salerno said.

The hotel plans a bar and grill on the lake, a restaurant, spa, tennis courts, pool, banquet rooms and the suites. The hotel will be glass and stucco, with a glass-dome lobby.

Rooms will cost $120 to $140 per night _ except for the suites, which will cost much more, said Juan Couret, vice president of Key International, which will build the 13-15 story hotel.

``We're basically trying to attract business from the arena, business from the mall and the corporate clients coming to Sawgrass Corporate Park,'' Couret said from the Panthers' marketing center on Northwest 139th Avenue, now called Panther Parkway.

If the building is 15 stories, it will be West Broward's tallest building, Couret and Salerno said. At 13 stories, it still would be the tallest hotel.

Couret said he worked with Alex Muxo, president of Panthers hockey Arena Development Inc., on the 13th floor idea. That way, rock stars and sports stars alike will have a nice place to stay _ about 1,200 square feet and two bathrooms per suite.

It's still undetermined which national chain will affix its name to the tower, which will sit on the southeast side of the intersection of Red Snapper Road and Panther Parkway.

Couret said the company is negotiating with Marriott, whose name will be on the developer's South Miami Beach hotel, which is in the works.

Phase I construction, which will begin in January 1999, will have 250 rooms. Phase II will add another 150 rooms.

The hotel has helped spark other economic interests, said Louis Sandora, in charge of the city's economic development.

One project, the Big Apple from Boca Raton, hopes to secure a land deal farther south on Panther Parkway.

That project, in the New York City theme, would include restaurant seating for 450, a nightclub, carnival-style games, live entertainment and video games, said officials from The Big Apple Corp.

Big Apple financial operator Frank Fiore called the hotel and arena a ``big plus'' to an already hopping area.

``Without those they were already getting 25 million visitors a year. And God knows what they're going to do next out there.''

The Big Apple is just one of many projects trying to grab up the last bits of vacant commercial land off Sunrise Boulevard and Panther Parkway.